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Outotec Reports Successful 2012 Despite Sluggish Global Economy

02/07/2013 - As it reported its earnings results, Outotec said the overall market outlook for minerals and metals as well as alternative energy and industrial water treatment is positive, but new investments in minerals and metals processing are needed as current production capacity and ongoing investments in new capacity are not sufficient to fulfill the long term demand of metals.

Reporting period January-December 2012 in brief (vs. 2011)
  • Order intake: €2,084.4 million (€2,005.4 million), +4%
  • Sales: €2,087.4 million (€1,385.6 million), +51%
  • Operating profit from business operations*): €193.8 million, 9.3% of sales (€121.5 million, 8.8%), +60%
  • Earnings per share: €2.82 (€1.75), +61%
 October-December 2012 in brief (vs. 2011)
  • Order intake: €471.2 million (€327.0 million), +44%
  • Sales: €649.8 million (€496.8 million), +31%
  • Operating profit from business operations*): €74.0 million, 11.4% of sales (€54.9 million, 11.0%), +35%
Revised financial guidance for 2013 (earlier guidance in parenthesis)
Based on the strong order backlog, current market outlook and the customer tendering activity, the management expects that in 2013:
  • Sales will be approximately €2.1-2.3 billion (grow from 2012), and
  • Operating profit margin from business operations*) will be approximately 9.5-10.5% (further improve from 2012)
President’s comments
President and CEO Pertti Korhonen commented: "The year 2012 was very successful for Outotec and an important milestone in our strategy implementation. For the first time, our sales exceeded two billion euros. We also managed to improve our profitability in line with our long term targets.
Despite the sluggish world economy, the demand for our technologies and services continued solid throughout the year and our sales grew faster than the market. Our customers' investment decisions are increasingly driven by environmental and energy efficiency factors, which boosted the demand for our advanced technologies. Environmental Goods and Services accounted for approximately 89% of our 2012 order intake (by OECD criteria), consisting of sustainable solutions for minerals and metals processing and environmental solutions including gas cleaning, sulfuric acid, alternative and renewable energy.
The growth in our minerals and metals processing solutions continued strong with new breakthroughs. The most significant and the largest single order in Outotec's history was the turn-key ilmenite smelter delivery to Cristal Global in Saudi Arabia. Our non-ferrous solutions business progressed strongly on all fronts. In the environmental solutions business, we made very good progress especially in waste-to-energy and industrial water treatment business and received several orders. We successfully continued to grow our services business both organically and through acquisitions, and we expanded our life cycle services offering. I am especially delighted with the long term operation and maintenance contract with the Russian Copper Company's Mikheevsky concentrator (published in January 2013), and I strongly believe that this type of service solutions leveraging our unique competence in process technology offers considerable growth opportunities for us in the future. 
We launched our current operational model and strategy in 2010 as a platform for sustainable growth. These initiatives have been very successful, delivering strong profitable growth even beyond our own expectations. I would like to thank our employees for their great spirit, dedication, and the great results. In addition to a good financial result, their commitment was demonstrated in the high participation rate of 34% in Outotec's Employee Share Savings Plan launched in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The mood in the world economy has somewhat improved during the past few months but the positive trend is still fragile. Uncertainty in the market may delay our customers' decisions to invest in new production capacity, impacting our order intake development going forward. We believe that environmental investments will further increase as governments are paying more and more attention to the necessity of sustainable development, also in developing markets.
Our strong order backlog gives us a good start in 2013, and we believe that there are plenty of growth opportunities for all our business areas. Sales growth in 2013 is forecasted to be moderate due to only slightly higher order intake in 2012 compared to previous year. We plan to continue to boost our growth through acquisitions, in addition to organic development. Since 2010 we have acquired and successfully integrated 12 companies, four of these in 2012. Besides growth, we plan to improve further our profitability and develop our operations in line with our strategy. Our mission is "Sustainable use of Earth's natural resources" and we will continue our work towards this also in 2013."
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS REVIEW JANUARY-DECEMBER 2012
OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
Despite the adverse global macroeconomic environment, in 2012 the demand for Outotec's solutions continued at a good level because of the company's competitive offering and good market position. The long term outlook for metals demand continued to be positive, driving investments to new capacity especially in non-ferrous metals value chain. Some mining companies announced revised investment plans mainly in the areas of iron ore and coal. Towards year-end base metal prices in particular strengthened and strong recovery was seen also in iron ore prices. In addition to greenfield investments, customers continued to seek additional operational improvements through the expansion and modernization of existing processing capacity. Market activity continued to be high in copper, gold, sulfuric acid, and aluminum markets but zinc, nickel, and platinum group metals markets were more subdued. In general, Outotec's project deliveries progressed well. Customers' production capacity utilization rates stayed high, supporting Outotec's spare parts and services sales. In addition, there was strong demand for operation and maintenance as well as shut down services due to Outotec's special capabilities in these areas. The competitive landscape remained relatively unchanged with some industry consolidation.
Despite continued macro-economic uncertainties, investment financing for solid projects continued to be available. However, local legislation, tighter environmental permitting and the complexity of financing packages slowed sales negotiations in some projects. In alternative energy solutions, low energy prices and uncertainties in political regulation impacted investment decisions in some countries.
ORDER INTAKE
Order intake in 2012 totaled €2,084.4 million (2011: €2,005.4 million), a 4% increase from the comparison period. The largest order in 2012, and in Outotec's history, over €350 million, was received in the second quarter. Orders received also included new breakthroughs in renewable energy as well as industrial water and environmental solutions. Foreign exchange rates did not have material effect on order intake growth. Orders from EMEA (Europe including the CIS, Middle East and Africa) represented 59%, Americas 26%, and Asia Pacific 15% of the total order intake. Orders received in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled €471.2 million (Q4/2011: €327.0 million), which was 44% higher than in the comparison period.
Published orders in the fourth quarter:
  • The world's largest and most advanced sewage sludge thermal treatment plant for the City of Zürich, Switzerland (value nearly €50 million, of which the first phase engineering was included in Outotec's 2012 order intake, and the main delivery contract will be included in the Q2/2013 order intake)
  • Sustainable biomass power plant for Eren Holding, Turkey (value approx. €55 million will be booked in Outotec's in Q1/2013 order intake)
  • An integrated solution consisting of gas cleaning, sulfuric acid, and effluent treatment technologies for Namibia Custom Smelters, Namibia (value approx. €130 million) to reduce the emissions and improve working conditions of the existing copper smelter
 Published orders in the third quarter:
  • Technology, proprietary equipment and services for National Iranian Copper Industries' copper and molybdenum projects, Iran (total value €265 million with 58 million booked in Q3/2012 order intake)
  • Technology for Orbite Aluminae's new high purity alumina plant, Canada (value not disclosed)
  • Modernization of Mexicana de Cobre's flash smelter including shutdown services and latest proprietary equipment, Mexico (value approx. €30 million)
  • Advanced technology and proprietary equipment for a new nickel matte treatment facility for Enerchem, South Korea (value over €10 million)
  •  Technology and proprietary equipment for aluminum smelters and related industry, China (value approx. €24 million)
  • Flotation technology including the world's largest flotation cells with energy saving features for copper concentrator expansion, South America (value over €30 million)
 Published orders in the second quarter:
  • Technology, key process equipment and advisory services for pelletizing iron ores and magnetites for Gol-E-Gohar Mining & Industrial, Iran (value approx. €80-85 million with €25 million booked in Q2/2012 order intake)
  • Flotation and automation technology, proprietary equipment and new Virtual Experience Training program for Kennecott Utah Copper concentrator, U.S. (value not disclosed, booked in Q1 order intake)
  • Filtration technology for lithium processing pilot plant for Corporación Minera de Bolivia, Bolivia (some millions of EUR)
  • Filtration technology including the world's largest and most advanced filters for MMX Mineração e Metálicos' iron ore processing facility, Brazil (value some tens of millions of EUR)
  • Innovative Emission Optimized Sintering technology for BPSL's new iron ore sintering plant, India (value approx. €20 million)
  • Technology, proprietary and key process equipment and services for the world's largest solvent extraction and electrowinning plant for Grupo México, Mexico (value approx. €22 million)
  • One of the world's largest ilmenite smelters as a turn-key delivery for Cristal Global, Saudi Arabia (value over €350 million)
 Published orders in the first quarter:
  • Integrated advanced solution including grinding, flotation and filtration as well as various services for a slag treatment plant for Codelco, Chile (value some €10 million)
  • The world's largest metallurgical sulfuric acid plant and gas cleaning system for Kansanshi Mining, Zambia (value over €80 million)
  • Feasibility study for Indonesia's first smelter-grade alumina refinery including comprehensive mineralogical investigations, laboratory-scale hydrometallurgical tests and basic engineering for PT ANTAM (Persero), Indonesia
  • Eco-efficient process technology, proprietary equipment and services for Grupo México's new copper concentrator, Mexico (value nearly €28 million)
ORDER BACKLOG
The order backlog at the end of 2012 was €1,947.1 million (December 31, 2011: €1,985.1 million), a 2% decrease from the previous year-end. At the end of 2012, Outotec had 38 projects with an order backlog value in excess of €10 million, accounting for 70% of the total backlog. Based on the 2012 year-end project evaluation, management estimates that roughly 77% (approximately €1,500 million) of the year-end order backlog value will be delivered in 2013 and the rest in 2014 and beyond.
SALES AND FINANCIAL RESULT
Outotec's sales in 2012 totaled €2,087.4 million (2011: €1,385.6 million), up 51% from the comparison period. The sales growth resulted from successful customer project deliveries from the strong opening order backlog and growth of services business. Recent acquisitions (Kiln Services, Energy Products of Idaho, Numcore, Demil, TME Group, and Backfill Specialists) accounted for approximately 5% of the total growth (2011: no impact). Foreign exchange rates did not have material effect on sales growth. Sales in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled €649.8 million (Q4/2011: €496.8 million), up 31% from the comparison period.
Sales in the Services business area, which is included in the sales figures of the three reporting segments, totaled €476.0 million in 2012 (2011: €343.5 million), up 39% from the comparison period and accounting for 23% of Outotec's sales (2011: 25%). Recent acquisitions (Kiln Services, TME Group and Demil) accounted for approximately 9% of the Services business area sales growth (2011: no impact). Services growth was achieved by further penetrating the old installed base and services delivered to the new installed base. In addition, demand for operation and maintenance as well as shutdown services grew in 2012. Sales in the Services business area in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled €184.1 million (Q4/2011: €109.1 million), up 69% from the comparison period and accounting for 28% of Outotec's sales (Q4/2011: 22%).
Operating profit from business operations in 2012 was €193.8 million (2011: €121.5 million), up 60% from the comparison period and representing 9.3% of sales (2011: 8.8%). The operating profit in 2012 was positively impacted by higher sales as well as successful project and service deliveries. The operating profit was negatively impacted by increased risk provisions in two customer projects. In 2012, the company also received less license fee income than in 2011. Unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts totaled €2.1 million (2011: gain of €1.7 million). Operating profit in 2012 was €184.3 million (2011: €111.9 million), representing 8.8% of sales (2011: 8.1% of sales). The total impact of PPA amortizations in 2012 was €12.5 million (2011: €4.9 million). The increase in the PPA amortizations resulted primarily from the Energy Products of Idaho (EPI) acquisition in December 2011. One-time items in 2012 totaled a gain of €3.0 million (2011: cost of €4.7 million) including acquisition related costs of €2.7 million (2011: costs of €2.0 million), restructuring related costs of €0.6 million (2011: costs of €2.6 million) and the positive impact of €6.3 million reduction from EPI earn-out payment liability of €8.8 million.
Operating profit from business operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 was €74.0 million (Q4/2011: €54.9 million), representing 11.4% of sales (Q4/2011: 11.0%), and operating profit was €74.9 million (Q4/2011: €48.9 million), representing 11.5% of sales (Q4/2011: 9.9%). Unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts in the fourth quarter of 2012 were €2.3 million (Q4/2011: loss of 0.6 €million). The impact of PPA amortizations in the fourth quarter of 2012 operating profit was €3.3 million (Q4/2011: €1.3 million).
Fixed costs in 2012 were €254.7 million (2011: €217.7 million) equivalent to 12% (2011: 16%) of sales. The cost increase was primarily due to expanding of the sales and marketing network, acquisitions, R&D activities as well as investments in developing and deploying the global operational model in line with the strategy. Profit before taxes in 2012 was €179.7 million (2011: €113.3 million). It included net finance expenses of €4.6 million (2011: net finance income €1.4 million) of which €1.2 million was related to impairment of loan receivables from available-for-sale investments and €2.6 million related to valuation of financial items and related hedges. Net profit for the reporting period was €127.8 million (2011: €79.3 million). Taxes totaled €51.9 million (2011: €34.0 million). Earnings per share were €2.82 (2011: €1.75), up 61% from the comparison period.
Outotec's return on equity in 2012 was 29.0% (2011: 20.9%), and the return on investment was 36.5% (2011: 26.4%).
Non-ferrous Solutions
Sales in the Non-ferrous Solutions business area in 2012 totaled €1,305.5 million (2011: €947.6 million), up 38% from the comparison period. The increase was due to good progress in customer deliveries from the order backlog, continued strong order intake, and growth in Services sales. The operating profit from business operations in 2012 was €163.2 million, 12.5% of sales (2011: €113.1 million, 11.9% of sales), and operating profit was €157.5 million, 12.1% of sales (2011: €107.7 million, 11.4% of sales). Operating profit was improved due to operating leverage resulting from higher sales and good performance in project deliveries. The unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts increased profitability in 2012 by €1.8 million (2011: loss of €1.3 million).
In the fourth quarter of 2012, sales were €396.5 million (Q4/2011: €358.8 million), the operating profit from business operations was €66.1 million, 16.7% of sales (Q4/2011: €54.5 million, 15.2% of sales), and operating profit €63.4 million, 16.0% of sales (Q4/2011: €52.4 million, 14.6% of sales). The unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts increased profitability in the fourth quarter of 2012 by €0.8 million (Q4/2011: loss of €2.4 million).
Ferrous Solutions
Sales in the Ferrous Solutions business area in 2012 totaled €371.2 million (2011: €221.1 million), up 68% from the comparison period. The increase was due to the successful execution of long term projects from the order backlog and growth in Services sales especially related to Demil acquisition. The operating profit from business operations in 2012 was €31.4 million, 8.5% of sales (2011: €9.8 million, 4.4% of sales) and operating profit was €30.0 million, 8.1% of sales (2011: €6.7 million, 3.1% of sales). The unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts increased profitability in 2012 by €0.6 million (2011: loss of €0.0 million).
In the fourth quarter of 2012, sales were €126.4 million (Q4/2011: €74.8 million). The operating profit from business operations was €13.0 million, 10.3% of sales (Q4/2011: €2.5 million, 3.3% sales), and operating profit €12.5 million, 9.9% of sales (Q4/2011: €-0.6 million, -0.7% of sales). The unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts increased profitability in the fourth quarter of 2012 by €0.8 million (Q4/2011: loss of €0.2 million).
Energy, Light Metals and Environmental Solutions
Sales in the Energy, Light Metals and Environmental Solutions business area in 2012 totaled €427.0 million (2011: €236.1 million), up 81% from the comparison period. The increase was due to the good progress in the execution of long term projects, acquisitions, and growth in Services sales. The operating profit from business operations in 2012 was €22.6 million, 5.3% of sales (2011: €25.8 million, 10.9% of sales) and operating profit was €20.3 million, 4.8% of sales (2011: €23.8 million, 10.1% of sales). Operating profit from business operations in 2012 decreased due to higher than planned project costs and increased risk provisions in two customer projects in the third and fourth quarter as well as fewer project completions compared to the comparison period. In addition, unrealized and realized exchange losses of €0.6 million (2011: gain of €2.9 million) related to currency forward contracts impacted the profitability in 2012.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, sales were €134.1 million (Q4/2011: €70.9 million), the operating profit from business operations was €4.4 million, 3.3% of sales (Q4/2011: €5.2 million, 7.4% of sales), and operating profit €8.6 million, 6.4% of sales (Q4/2011: €3.6 million, 5.0% of sales). The unrealized and realized exchange gains related to currency forward contracts increased profitability in the fourth quarter of 2012 by €0.4 million (Q4/2011: gain of €1.5 million).
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
In 2012, Outotec's research and technology development expenses totaled €41.6 million (2011: €33.5 million), increasing 24% from the comparison period and representing 2.0% of sales (2011: 2.4%). Outotec filed 70 new priority patent applications (2011: 41), which is record high number showing excellent innovation activity of Outotec's personnel. Further, 286 new national patents were granted (2011: 326). At the end of 2012, Outotec had 630 patent families, including a total of 5,745 national patents or patent applications.
In October, Outotec and Central South University, China agreed on Sustainable Development Creative Award which aims at building active R&D relationships between Central South University and Outotec. Furthermore, Outotec's expert Dr. Markus Reuter was appointed as Visiting Professor of Central South University.
In April-June, based on the cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Minerals Resources and Energy of Mongolia, Outotec and Aalto University organized together a training course in Finland in Minerals Engineering and Metallurgy for Mongolian Bachelor of Science Graduates and professors.
Outotec's new product launches in 2012:
Non-ferrous Solutions
Outotec agreed with Korea Zinc Company on the global marketing rights for the Ausmelt Top Submerged Lance (TSL) technology for the fuming of zinc bearing residues. The TSL zinc fuming technology is able to maximize the recovery of valuable metals from zinc residues and produce an environmentally-friendly slag product which is clean and safe as a substitute for aggregates and various construction materials (press release on Dec 12). 
Outotec delivered the world's first university-based minipilot concentrator to the Department of Process and Environmental Engineering of the University of Oulu, Finland. The small research and minerals processing plant is designed for a learning environment and represents the concentrating process of the Pyhäsalmi mine in Finland on the scale of 1:5000. It offers an innovative environment for education and research of minerals processing unit operations (press release on Dec 11).
Outotec launched the world's largest semi-autogenous (SAG) grinding mill to the market in response to growing metals demand and declining ore grades. The mill is driven by a 28 MW Gearless Motor Drive, which is the largest grinding mill power ever used. The SAG mill offers increased efficiency and up to 15% larger mill capacity with low energy consumption.
Outotec and Sandvik Mining announced closer cooperation in minerals processing solutions. This enables Outotec to offer an entire processing plant, including crushing, grinding, and concentrating as well as process testing, design, basic engineering, and process guarantees (press release on Sep 24).
Outotec received exclusive rights from Swiss Tower Mills Minerals Ltd to distribute and sell its Tower Mills (STM) grinding technology. High-intensity grinding mills marketed as Outotec® HIGmill bring a new option to the market, enabling Outotec to compete for the position of market leader in fine and ultra-fine grinding (press release on April 5).
Outotec launched the world's largest flotation cell, the Outotec TankCell® e500. It has been designed for plants with high material throughputs, such as large copper and gold concentrators. Outotec offers the broadest size range of flotation cells on the market (from 5 m³ to 500 m³), which allows for a flexible layout with symmetrical design. The benefits include lower equipment costs and energy consumption, less installation work, and a smaller plant footprint. Fewer units per installation result in fewer components, spare parts, and less maintenance.
Outotec launched the Outotec® Larox PF 180, the world's largest pressure filter. The PF 180 series are 50% larger than the previous model and lowering operating cost per ton.
Ferrous Solutions
Outotec has developed a new Outotec® EOS - Emission Optimized Sintering process for iron ore sintering. Besides iron ores, it can also be applied for sintering of manganese ore fines. The process reduces the substantial off-gas volume by 50-60% by re-circulating the off-gas and using its CO content as an energy source. As there are less off-gases, the off-gas cleaning investment and operational costs will be lower, and the consumption of coke used as energy can be cut by up to 20%, which significantly reduces dust and emissions.
Outotec introduced an automated pallet car changer for iron ore sintering and pelletizing plants. The new solution increases plant productivity since no stoppage is necessary during the changing procedure. The automated process allows continuous change of multiple pallet cars. The solution can be applied both in new and brownfield sintering and pelletizing plants.
Outotec has added Direct Current Furnaces to its ferroalloy smelting technology portfolio, and in partnership with Allied Furnace Consultants (AFC) based in South Africa, has developed and patented a new conductive anode design which will be installed in all new Outotec® Direct Current Smelting furnaces worldwide.
Outotec has developed an ilmenite smelting process which applies Outotec's ferroalloy smelting technology. The new technology will be implemented in Cristal Global's mega size ilmenite smelter project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (stock exchange release on May 31). The initial annual capacity of one of the world's largest ilmenite plants will be 500,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide slag, and 235,000 tonnes of high purity pig iron.
Energy, Light Metals and Environmental Solutions
Outotec has developed a patented clay calcination process to activate different clay minerals in a fluidized bed furnace. Depending on the quality requirements, solid fuels can also be used as an energy source for the reaction. In Outotec's trial plants, diverse samples can be produced for verification of the product quality. Clay calcination offers a significant reduction in carbon dioxide compared to the traditional clinker production process.
The acquisition of Energy Products of Idaho has significantly improved Outotec's capabilities to offer biomass and waste-to-energy systems which can operate on over 200 different biomass fuels and fuel mixes. Covering the entire chain of converting different biomass materials into energy, our circulating and stationary fluidized bed systems allow utilization of a variety of fuel substances - from waste wood up to biomass sludge such as lignin sludge from bio-ethanol production. The new energy systems will be applied, for example, in the Karton 90 MW biomass power plant in Turkey (press release on Nov 16) and in the advanced sewage sludge thermal treatment plant in Zürich, Switzerland (press release on Nov 9).
SUSTAINABILITY
In October, Outotec was recognized for the fourth consecutive year in Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index.
In September, Outotec hosted a seminar in Indonesia for customers, partners, ministries, industry associations, and academics on the implementation of a framework for sustainability in the Indonesian mining and metals processing industries. The seminar was organized jointly with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment. Outotec presented sustainable solutions and environmental considerations in minerals and metals processing as well as trends in environmental legislation in Europe.
Outotec published its sustainability report for 2011 in April. The report is based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and conforms to Application Level B+ and is third-party assured by Ecobio Ltd. In November, the report was awarded Readers' Choice in the competition evaluating the corporate responsibility reporting of the Finnish companies.
MARKET OUTLOOK
Many global macroeconomic indicators including metals prices have been strengthening during recent months due to the more positive GDP growth outlook in the BRIC countries, Africa, the USA, and Europe. The overall market outlook for minerals and metals as well as alternative energy and industrial water treatment is positive due to the favorable megatrends. In addition, project financing is available and interest rate levels are expected to stay low.
In minerals and metals processing, new investments are needed as current production capacity and ongoing investments in new capacity are not sufficient to fulfill the long term demand of metals. The main drivers for increasing metals demand are global GDP growth and the growing middle class in emerging economies. In addition, declining ore grades and more complex ores require investments in capacity and advanced technology to enable sufficient recovery of metals. In addition to these production capacity drivers, tightening environmental regulations, increasing energy efficiency requirements, and reducing of energy costs, carbon dioxide and other emissions as well as scarcity of fresh water increase investments in sustainable technology. Additionally, many developing countries, which in the past have been exporting raw materials with low value, are now investing in domestic capacity in order to capture more value from their natural resources. All in all, the industry is increasingly focusing on the social and environmental impacts of their operations and this is increasing the demand for sustainable processing technologies.
There are still uncertainties in the world economy. However, metal prices are currently at a good level, and therefore, mining and metal companies are seeking ways to increase the capacity of their existing operations, which is often the fastest route to a return on investment. As a result, the industry CAPEX has been somewhat shifting from large greenfield projects requiring significant infrastructure investments to brownfield modernization and capacity enhancements. Outotec believes that the market continues to be solid in brownfield and mid-tier projects as well as services. New projects are developed, especially in the CIS, Middle East, Africa, and South-East Asia. Large turnkey projects are currently being developed more slowly as investment costs have been increasing, environmental permitting has been getting stricter, and industry's human resources continue to be scarce. These trends create favorable opportunities for Outotec's life cycle solutions when the company can provide the best return on the customer's investment with predictable investment cost, time to market, and process performance, leveraging the company's unique technologies and core competencies.
Demand for alternative energy solutions continues to be stable, but in many countries current low energy prices and the lack of local regulations are slowing down the growth of investments in this area. However, niche waste-to-energy projects, where several raw materials can be used to create renewable energy for solving a local waste problem, are identified globally.
REVISED FINANCIAL GUIDANCE FOR 2013 (EARLIER GUIDANCE IN PARENTHESIS)
Based on the strong order backlog, current market outlook and the customer tendering activity, the management expects that in 2013:
•           Sales will be approximately €2.1-2.3 billion (grow from 2012), and
•           Operating profit margin from business operations*) will be approximately 9.5-10.5% (further improve from 2012)